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Second Half Surge Gives UCLA 3-0 Win Over UNLV

Los Angeles, Calif. - After a scoreless first half, No. 10/3 UCLA broke through with three second-half goals to take a 3-0 victory over UNLV on Sunday at Drake Stadium. The Bruins received a pair of goals from senior Kyle Nakazawa and a goal by freshman Chandler Hoffman to improve to 5-1 on the season.

The first half of the game was a scoreless affair, with each team struggling to get going offensively. The Bruins had four shots in the half, while the Rebels had three. UNLV's Nick Marshall had the best goal-scoring opportunity of the half in the 32nd minute when an intercepted pass at midfield led to a breakaway, but his shot missed wide left.

The second half was all UCLA. Nakazawa scored his first goal at 52:10 after receiving a pass on the right side from Hoffman. Nakazawa shot far post to beat UNLV goalkeeper Roland Swanson. With UCLA holding onto the 1-0 lead, Bruin goalkeeper Brian Rowe came up with a big save in the 58th minute. Marshall got ahead on a breakaway, but Rowe charged in as Marshall took a shot and made a sliding kick save. Seconds later, Rowe made another big stop on a cross that came into the box.

At 59:03, Hoffman gave UCLA some breathing room with his third goal of the year. David Estrada set up the play with a pass to Ryan Hollingshead, who found Hoffman alone in the box. Hoffman's shot from close range pinged the right post and went in to put UCLA ahead 2-0. Nakazawa struck again at 61:46 with a left-footed shot to the left corner. Evan Raynr was credited with an assist. Nakazawa, who now leads the team in goals (four) and points (10) has recorded a goal or assist in each of the last four games.

The Bruins played with a makeshift defense for the second half after defenders Danny Suits and Chris Cummings collided at midfield late in the first half and had to be taken out of the game. Oscar Reyes and Luis Serrano came into the game to take their places and did a stellar job in maintaining the shutout, along with Rowe, Sean Alvarado, Zack Zerrenner. Rowe had two saves in the game and recorded his first career shutout. Swanson had three saves for the Rebels.

'In the first half, we struggled up front and couldn't keep the ball,' said UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo. 'In the second half, Chandler Hoffman and David Estrada, in particular, did a good job of not only holding the ball but being goal dangerous. We challenged the team in the locker room (at halftime) to step up, and they did.'

UCLA heads into Pac-10 Conference play with a 5-1 record and will will face Oregon State and Washington on the road this upcoming weekend. UNLV's record drops to 4-2-2.